Graeme Gunn, the distinguished Australian Institute of Architects 2011 Gold Medallist, handed away aged 91 on 1 October 2024. Right here, we replicate on the outstanding homes designed by the late architect, honouring his distinctive expertise and the wealthy architectural legacy he leaves behind.
Grange Highway Townhouse was the most important of 4 modernist townhouses in a block, every masterfully designed to work with the location’s topography relatively than in opposition to it. Designed by Gunn as a part of a Service provider Builders improvement, the house was a quintessential instance of the uncovered brick and timber order that was attribute of Service provider Builders initiatives on the time. The house enveloped a central courtyard, with home windows thoughtfully positioned all through the home to keep up visible connections to the backyard and parklands past.
An exquisite illustration of what may be achieved when leveraging native assets, Baronda Home in New South Wales was virtually solely completed in Australian hardwood sourced from its web site. The one exceptions included an unpainted bagged brick chimney on the dwelling’s centre and a corrugated fibre cement roof. A framework of spherical tree trunks – processed at a close-by milling and remedy facility – supported the construction, together with a research on the higher stage that cantilevered out from the principle quantity of the home.
Molesworth Road Townhouses (1968)
These Melbourne townhouses had been designed as staggered concrete block constructions, organized round a communal driveway to kind a quaint village cluster. Though the homes had been dispersed all through the location, they’re unified by cohesive landscaping and architectures that echo the shape and mass of each other. The homes adopted a muted gray shade on the facade, a favoured color palette steadily utilized by Gunn to recede buildings into the panorama.
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Scroggie/Claire Home (1976)
Throughout a dialog with Des Smith and David Beynon after being awarded the 2011 Gold Medal, Gunn revealed that the Scroggie/Claire Home in South Yarra, Melbourne, was the mission he cherished being concerned in probably the most. He emphasised that evaluating a mission’s success goes past the bodily construction; it additionally encompasses the connection with the purchasers and the general course of from idea to completion. “It was beautiful in all areas – they had been beaut individuals and we simply had enjoyable doing it,” stated Gunn. Through the dialog, Gunn remarked that the home had been so extensively renovated that it had misplaced its authentic character solely.
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Service provider Builders examined and constructed progressive and inexpensive housing fashions in suburban Melbourne utilizing Gunn’s designs. These designs inspired a way of neighborhood, in addition to a connection to nature. Vermont Park is one instance of those cluster housing developments. It comprised 43 homes unfold over a four-acre space, that includes a central park and communal facilities like barbecues and a swimming pool. 9 home designs had been supplied for patrons to select from. Frequent options amongst them had been the northern orientation of totally glazed dwelling areas, and timber-framed and battened pergolas additionally located on the north face.
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To be taught extra about Gunn’s life and contributions to structure, learn this tribute.
